President Lee Jae-myung on Friday did not reach a conclusion on the divisive Jeju second airport construction project but listened closely to public sentiment, telling residents, "I ask you to make a good judgment."
At a town hall meeting held at Halla Convention Center in Halla University, Jeju, Lee asked attendees whether they supported or opposed the second airport. When opinions appeared roughly evenly split, he said, "It doesn't seem like either side is overwhelmingly dominant."
Lee also asked attendees for their views on building an undersea tunnel connecting Jeju Island to the mainland. After having participants raise their hands for or against, he said, "The vast majority are opposed. There are far more people saying we shouldn't do it," adding, "That aligns with my own thinking." He continued, "This may be a cautious thing to say, but I believe the identity of being an island is what makes Jeju truly Jeju," effectively expressing opposition to the undersea tunnel, unlike his neutral stance on the second airport.
Lee raised concerns about an energy supply crisis stemming from recent developments in the Middle East. "The situation is worse than you might think. It's bad right now, but the future looks even more unstable," he said. "The whole world is in turmoil over energy problems. The situation is so serious that I can't sleep at night," he added, stressing, "We must transition to renewable energy as quickly as possible."
In particular, Lee urged faster deployment of zero-emission vehicles, saying, "Isn't the government's goal to convert 100% of rental cars to electric vehicles? These policies must be implemented boldly and swiftly." He added, "Aren't we in an emergency situation right now? The current pace of transition is far too slow."
Lee also repeatedly emphasized his push to abolish the criminal statute of limitations and civil statute of repose for state violence, saying, "I will make that promise a reality in the very near future." He said, "I have attended nearly every Jeju April 3 memorial event and made promises each time, but I have yet to fulfill them." Following his visit to the April 3 Peace Park and a luncheon with bereaved families the previous day, Lee reiterated at the town hall his commitment to swiftly reintroduce the "Special Act on Statutes of Limitations for Anti-Human Rights State Crimes." The bill passed the National Assembly plenary session in December 2024 but was scrapped after then-Acting President Choi Sang-mok exercised his veto.
"This has been a long-held idea of mine. I made it concrete during my time as party leader and it passed through legislation, but it was blocked by the veto," Lee said. "Now I am president, and the National Assembly has a majority of seats, so it should be possible now." Regarding the bill's purpose, he explained, "It is the result of deliberation on the best way to prevent events like the April 3 incident, the May 18 Gwangju uprising, and the December 3 incident from happening again."
Specifically, on abolishing the criminal statute of limitations, Lee said, "Like Nazi war criminals, those responsible must be held accountable until the day they die. They must be pursued, investigated, and punished for life." He stressed, "Public officials must be made to feel a sense of fear toward history, the people, and the nation." Regarding the exclusion of civil statutes of repose, he said, "Some may say the children have done nothing wrong, but there is no reason they should inherit and enjoy the perpetrators' assets," explaining, "Within the scope of inherited assets, descendants should also bear joint liability."
Lee characterized the April 3 incident as "an event that was like the starting point of large-scale state violence," stating, "People were unjustly killed, and far from being protected by the state, they were further victimized." He continued, "This must never happen again. We must never return to such a barbaric society," raising his voice to say, "For that, democracy — a nation 'for the people, by the people, of the people' as stipulated in the Constitution — must be firmly established."
Lee added, "To prevent state violence like the April 3 incident from ever occurring again, the first step is to fully reveal the brutal truth — the so-called fact-finding." He continued, "And there must be clear compensation and accountability."